Serviceberry Bush

How To Care For A Serviceberry Bush

If you are interested in having a plant that produces a blueberry flavored berry, you might want to think about a serviceberry bush. Although it is considered a bush, this plant can reach up to twenty feet so it can also have a tree like appearance if you prune it correctly. It also has blooms that appear before the fruit is produced and they are crème to white colored flowers that make the tree gorgeous to look at. This is why the serviceberry bush is becoming so popular.

This bush is a member of the rosaceae family and it is a perennial. It is a hardy plant that can live and thrive through most winters. It can be used for a windbreak or bordering plant when planted in a group or it may be allowed to grow and become a tree like plant. Birds love serviceberries and there is no need for a bird feeder if you have one of these plants. But there may be a problem if you love serviceberries too. You might need to purchase a large net to cover the tree when it starts to produce the berries. When they are ripe simply remove the netting and harvest the berries. After you remove the netting you can let the birds have the remaining berries.

If you want to grow service bush berries you have to locate a spot in your yard that has both shading and direct sunlight. The serviceberry bush needs a full six hours a day of sunlight but it also needs shading. If the bush is not properly shaded the berry skins will toughen and be hard to chew. They may even become shriveled up and burnt because of too much sunlight. It is a good idea to plant them under or near taller trees.

When planting tress or bushes you have to space them apart correctly. These bushes have a tendency to spread out over time especially if you are not pruning them. So you should space them a full fifteen feet apart. If you want to plant them in a row for bordering, you can plant them closer and when they mature you can remove a few between the rows. It can be frustrating while the plants grow in because the spaces between them seem bare. But you must be patient and let them mature before they can appear to be close enough together.

If you want to plant the serviceberry bush by itself you can dig a large hole and remove the rocks or pebbles from the soil. Place the small bush in the hole and make sure the root system is separated and even spaced. You can also make sure that the base of the bush is elevated over the rest of the yard by a few inches. This is a great way to insure that the plants receive enough water but the root system never becomes soggy or too moist.

When planting these bushes in a row you can also elevate the rows and make sure the beds are raised up. Make sure that you use proper spacing to avoid overcrowding and do not over water these bushes. Although you will want to make sure the soil is moist, most trees do not do well when the root systems are saturated.

You can keep these bushes as long or short as you want by pruning them. You can also control how thick the braches are and how much they bush out. The best time to prune these types of plants is after they have produced the berries. Never prune more than fifty percent of the entire plant.